Letters to the Editor: Thursday, March 27, 2014

To the editor,I feel that some things in Mr. Kuschell’s recent letter (“The election is over and critics insult the Adrian majority,” March 22) need to be addressed. However, there is one thing that I do agree with in his letter, that is the “new administration” is a “regime.” However, alluding that the election outcome was a mandate, one needs to consider that the mayor was elected by less than 10 percent of the total registered voters, hardly a mandate.

Regarding the comment that the previous leadership voted quickly to tie up oil revenues, this is simply not true. In January of 2013 the city commission discussed at length at the strategic planning sessions what to do with oil revenues. At that time the commissioners were unanimously in favor of putting the money into a trust and waiting three years before receiving any funds. Five months later the commission approved that document, again with a unanimous vote in support of investing all the revenues.

It was not until August when the actual trust agreement was presented for approval was there any disagreement with the concept all had previously supported. Guess what? By then my opponent had made it a campaign issue and then politics took over. Both Commissioners Berryman-Adams and Faulhaber voted against the trust agreement after supporting it in January and June. In my timeline, eight months to discuss and vote on an issue doesn’t qualify as “quickly.”

The overall tone of Mr. Kuschell’s letter is his frustration that people are criticizing the new regime. Not only is this shocking, coming from the writer, but it is extremely hypocritical. Mr. Kuschell has been a regular at city commission meetings for the last four years. He has never been afraid to voice his opinion, even though it was usually critical of the commission, especially regarding trash, recycling, recreation and oil drilling. After spending the last four years criticizing the commission, he now doesn’t want anyone else to do so? Just a few days ago in China the first lady, Michelle Obama, said this, “When it comes to expressing yourself freely, worshipping as you choose, and having open access to information, we believe those are universal rights that are the birthright of every person on this planet.”

When I was mayor, I told the commissioners that I did not expect 7–0 votes all the time and that different opinions were always welcome. Apparently Mr. Kuschell and the Berryman “regime” do not approve of hearing any opinions contrary to their own, which is a sad and discouraging change for our city government.

Greg DuMarsAdrian

Hatred toward gays is wrong, disheartening

To the editor,It breaks my heart when my friend’s sister is called despicable because she is in love with a woman — a woman who teaches school and cares for homeless children on her own time after school. It hurts me when delightful kids I tutored in elementary school, who have since grown into adulthood and discovered that they are gay, are called sinful and disgusting — kids who have grown into young adults who now work hard helping feed hungry and troubled people in our town. It makes me cringe when my gay family members who have been highly respected and praised in the past, are suddenly thought to be perverted. It makes me sad when my dear, kind, intelligent friends are denied their right to legally commit themselves to those whom they naturally love, and treated like they are inferior people. How does love in someone’s heart make others so violent and hateful?

It seems to me that many people who claim that being gay is wrong have never been emotionally close to a gay person, and don’t understand that they are not disturbed, weird, sick, or other negative labels I’ve seen in print and heard spoken out loud to their faces. They don’t know any on a personal level so they don’t realize gays are ordinary, hard-working, normal people. Or, probably more realistically, gay people who could and may wish to be closer to them are standing right in front of them, and are just afraid to tell them who they are.